


Turning Point/The One Where Jack Survives

by BadLuckBlueEyes



Series: Snapshots 'Verse [8]
Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Boxing, Canon Disabled Character, Gen, Jack is a good dad, Other, don't forget the part where Jack is a boxer, give him credit he's trying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-14
Updated: 2015-08-14
Packaged: 2018-04-14 18:22:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4575000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadLuckBlueEyes/pseuds/BadLuckBlueEyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part eight of Snapshots, in which Jack survives and can be a good dad. Because he's trying. Give him some credit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Turning Point/The One Where Jack Survives

Jack was ready to throw the fight. Then he wasn’t. Then he was again. The days leading up to the fight were spent in a mental debate as he tried to decide what he was going to do. On the one hand, he could throw the fight and take home an okay check; but he could let the devil out and win. He could put a lot of money on himself, he was the long shot, and he could leave Matt enough money to get into a good college. He could do it. He knew he could. 

Just once, he wanted Matt to hear people cheering for him. He could do something good, he could leave a legacy, he could make his son proud. 

The hardest part was that he knew he could win. 

But if he did win, he was sure that Sweeney would come for him, would beat him or kill him for not throwing the fight. Jack just wanted to make Matt proud. 

Then Jack would get up and look at Matt studying. The accident hadn't slowed him down too much, it turned out. Matt was as studious as ever and his grades had barely changed. Sure, they dipped a bit right after the accident when he was struggling, but they returned to the usual perfect standard he held himself to. Jack didn’t want to run the risk of losing Matt. If he died, Matt would go to an orphanage and nobody there would support him. Then the pictures would stop. 

Jack was torn between the right thing and the admirable thing. Every time he looked at Matt, the admirable thing felt like the jackass thing. 

He found himself picking up the phone at the gym, ready to call and place bets on him, before hanging up the phone. 

In the end, he walked into the ring still undecided. 

In the end, he went down in the fifth as instructed. 

He received an envelope full of cash and walked home, finding Matt asleep on the couch. He picked up the camera and took a photo of his kid, feeling like maybe he had done the right thing. Matt stirred a little. 

“Dad?” 

“Yeah Matty, it’s me. You watch the whole fight?” Matt nodded. 

“You lost.” 

“I did.” He felt like he won, anyway. “I think I should take my own advice and hit the books.” 

“What?” Matt raised his eyebrows. His glasses started slipping from his nose and he took them off, putting them on the table. 

“I think I should try to go to college. Somewhere local, keep it cheap. But I should try and get a degree, get an actual job so we can save money for you to go to college too. Hell, if I get a good enough job we could move to a better apartment. What do you think?” Matt was quiet for a moment. 

“What about fighting?” 

“I don’t know.” he said honestly. The idea of going to school was still fresh in his brain, but if he could use money from fighting to pay for classes, he might as well. 

“I think you should.” Matt smiled. That was all Jack needed. He would go to college and get a good job for Matt’s sake. That’s what his kid deserved. Maybe someday Matt would be proud of him for that.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to J for the beta read. Hope you all enjoyed!


End file.
